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92_HR0665
LRB9215909RHrhA
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to express their sincere condolences to
4 the family and friends of Joanne Andrews, who passed away on
5 January 24, 2002; and
6 WHEREAS, For the past four decades, Joanne Andrews took
7 on issues in Wilmette ranging from historic preservation to
8 property tax reform, both as a village trustee and all-around
9 civic leader; she also earned her place among a group of
10 women who in many ways reshaped the political landscape of
11 the village starting in the 1960s and 1970s; and
12 WHEREAS, Joanne Andrews was born in Evanston, spending
13 her childhood in Iowa and later Chicago; she moved to
14 Wilmette in 1959 with her husband David and their first
15 daughter, Katherine; and
16 WHEREAS, Mrs. Andrew began what would be a lifelong
17 involvement in local and regional issues, starting with the
18 League of Women Voters and an inner-city outreach program
19 through St. Augustine's Church; and
20 WHEREAS, In the early 1970s, Mrs. Andrews helped found
21 the Wilmette Forum, which redefined the way local candidates
22 were elected; at the end of the 1960s, the decades-old caucus
23 system had fractured, leading to the formation of local
24 political parties and bitter election battles; the forum
25 worked to encourage independent candidates, get them to run
26 fair campaigns and get them exposure through public meetings;
27 and
28 WHEREAS, Mrs. Andrews also was instrumental in putting
29 together a community fair in 1972 for the village's 100th
30 birthday; and
31 WHEREAS, Shortly after becoming president of the Wilmette
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1 Historical Society in 1973, Mrs. Andrews spearheaded an
2 effort to save the village's 1873 train depot; the society
3 raised more than $15,000 to move the structure to the 1100
4 block of Wilmette Avenue, where it now holds a restaurant;
5 she also helped design and edit three editions of "Wilmette:
6 A History.", and co-owned and ran DuBane's Print Shop, a
7 Chicago business started by her stepfather; and
8 WHEREAS, Mrs. Andrews took leadership in many things the
9 village still benefits from; in the late 1970s, Mrs. Andrews
10 became interested in property tax reform after finding
11 systematic inequalities in the way properties were assessed
12 in Cook County; her research led to an appointment on a
13 special commission under the Cook County Board; and
14 WHEREAS, After one narrow election loss and a term on the
15 Plan Commission, Mrs. Andrews won election in 1989 to the
16 Village Board, where she served until 1997; and
17 WHEREAS, Mrs. Andrews became involved in formulating bulk
18 controls for home construction and a historic preservation
19 ordinance which led to the creation of the Historic
20 Preservation Commission; and
21 WHEREAS, Joanne Andrews will be best remembered as
22 someone who could master very technical and complicated
23 issues, and who also fought tenaciously on issues that
24 greatly benefitted the Wilmette community; and
25 WHEREAS, The passing of Joanne Andrews will be deeply
26 felt by all who knew and loved her, especially her husband,
27 David; her daughters, Katherine and Amy; her son, Dana; and
28 her grandchildren; therefore, be it
29 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
30 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
31 we mourn, along with all who knew her, the death of Joanne
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1 Andrews of Wilmette, Illinois; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3 presented to the family of Joanne Andrews with our sincere
4 condolences.